


Fair Maid

by moonlit_wings



Category: Strange Magic (2015), The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Elves, F/M, Fairies, Friends to Lovers, Goblins, Interspecies Romance, Little Mermaid Elements, MerMay, Politics, Potions, Shapeshifting, Singing, accidentally posted too early but I'm leaving it up because it would be too much hassle to fix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-06 19:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14654514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlit_wings/pseuds/moonlit_wings
Summary: Little Mermaid AU. Marianne goes to Sugar Plum for a potion that will turn her into a wingless goblin for a month – or forever, if she and the Bog King share True Love's Kiss before the full moon rises, but what are the odds of that? (For full parallels, Marianne is the younger fairy princess.)





	1. Setting the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't actually supposed to go up until the 21st of May, and then I was going to do a chapter a day, but while editing it I accidentally clicked 'Post Chapter' for one of the later chapters in the story rather than 'Save Without Posting', which caused that chapter and the first one to go up, and the only way to fix it would be to delete the accidentally-published chapter and recreate it, which would be a lot more hassle than just posting the story now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to an article in Wikipedia on peerage systems, a Duke or Duchess actually outranks a Prince or Princess, but I’m saying that in the Fairy Kingdom’s nobility, the Royal Family outranks everyone and a Duke/Duchess is the next step down after Prince/Princess.

It came as a shock to the entire Fairy Kingdom when Crown Princess Dawn announced her engagement to a common elf named Sunny.

They had been lifelong friends, and courted in secret over several years. Princess Dawn had also been openly courted by a knight, Roland, during that time, and the court had expected her to marry the handsome and charming fairy man.

The fairies were scandalized. The elves were delighted. The brownies and sprites, having no direct stake in the marriage, thought for the most part that it was romantic.

The Fairy King had tried to argue with his daughter, but deflated almost immediately when Dawn insisted she loved Sunny. Love and happiness was all that he'd hoped for, for his daughters. Besides, he'd known the elf even if he hadn't seen him as a potential son-in-law, and he knew Sunny was honourable and hard-working and kind-hearted. Sunny could be taught to be a good king.

Princess Marianne, Dawn's younger sister, was happy for the engaged couple. The one thing that darkened her mood was the knowledge that, now that the Crown Princess was unavailable, every ambitious suitor in the kingdom would soon be turning their attentions to Marianne.

Sir Roland would not dare pay court to her right away, lest it cast aspersions against his character that he was only trying to marry power, rather than that he loved either princess. But few other knights and lords were thusly restrained; nearly every fairy man had paid court to Princess Dawn at some time or another, but not many had kept up a sustained suit, and several who would have been 'too young' to woo Dawn were also 'just the right age' for Princess Marianne's consideration.

Marianne did not have any strenuous objections to the idea of getting married, but she did have other things she wanted to do first.

She wanted adventure. Specifically, she had always wanted to explore their neighbouring kingdom, the Dark Forest.

The wedding was as joyous and bright as a wedding could be. The bride and groom wept for joy when they exchanged vows of devotion. The flowers for which the kingdom was famous looked especially vivid, and the creeks that danced through the grass were sparkling and musical under the early summer sun.

The party continued all night after Princess Dawn and new Prince Consort Sunny left for their honeymoon. (There had been talk of naming Sunny only a Duke, to become Prince Consort once Dawn was Queen, but as a fairy suitor would have become Prince Consort and later King, the Royal Council could not justify giving a reduced rank to an elf.) Princess Marianne danced until sunrise, and then pleaded exhaustion and slipped away.

Instead of sleeping, she changed from her party dress into a practical tunic, pants, and boots, and then made her way to the workshop of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

A powerful sorceress, Sugar Plum was most famous for her love potions, but she had not made any in years. Rumour had it that this was to do with some bargain made with the goblins' Bog King. Sugar Plum had once travelled freely between the two realms, but shortly after the Bog King took the Dark Forest throne, she had restricted herself to the Fairy Kingdom.

If Princess Marianne wanted to go into the Dark Forest, the Sugar Plum Fairy was one of the few in the Fairy Kingdom of whom she could ask advice and assistance.


	2. Getting the Potion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> " _Poor Unfortunate Souls_ " was originally composed by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman, for the 1989 Disney animated version of _The Little Mermaid_ , where it was sung by Pat Carroll in her role as Ursula the Sea Witch. I have rewritten a fragment of this song to be sung by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

"Hmm, tricky, tricky," said Plum. "But I think I have just to potion. Fairies aren't allowed in the Forest, so I'll need to turn you into a goblin. The magic lasts from one full moon to the next – go to the border tonight and drink the potion, and you'll be changed. You won't have your wings, I warn you right now. Still willing to risk it?"

"Yes," said Marianne. "This is … all I've ever wanted."

"Alright – open your wings and hold still."

She opened them, fanning them out, and Plum began to sing.

"Poor unfortunate souls! In pain! In need! This one longs to be respected; that one wants an adventure; and do I help them? Yes, indeed. Poor unfortunate souls! So sad! So true! They come flocking to my workshop, crying, ' _Plum, your potions, please!_ ', and I help them. Yes, I do. Now, it's happened, sad to tell, someone didn't listen well, and I'm afraid my magic left them un-consoled. Yes, I've had the odd complaint … but on the whole, I've been a saint – to those poor unfortunate souls!"

Sparkling purple dust floated off of Marianne's wings and formed a cloud between Plum's hands. Her wings felt heavier the more dust Plum gathered.

"That should be enough. Oh – there is one other loophole. While you're in the Dark Forest, you _could_ try to get the Bog King to fall in love with you. If you share True Love's Kiss with him before the next full moon rises, you can stay a goblin forever." Plum shapeshifted into a form Marianne assumed was the Bog King – tall and sharp and winged – before switching back to herself.

"Only the Bog King, though? Not just … any random goblin?"

"You're a princess, honey, and after your sister 'insisted on marrying an elf', the only way the kingdom will accept you marrying out-of-species too is if your goblin suitor outranks every potential suitor here. They don't have much of a court in the Dark Forest, so the only real options are the Bog King and his mother, and I think Griselda might be a little old for you." She shifted again, into a little goblin wearing clothes made of leaves and a crown of stones, and then back to normal.

Plum's miniature assistants swarmed around her and threw sparks into the glittering magical cloud that Plum was still holding. One of them brought her a bottle and Plum channelled the dust into it. The potion was dark violet and glowing, with an iridescent sheen. It sloshed like a liquid in its bottle.

Marianne let her wings fall. They were still purple, but now drab and desaturated, almost gray. She didn't think she could fly with them.

"Remember what I told you," Plum said sternly. "Go to the border tonight, drink the whole bottle, and you'll be a goblin until the next full moon rises – unless you and the Bog King fall in love."

"I'll remember." Marianne took the bottle and left.

The Sugar Plum Fairy waved down one of her Plumettes. "Take a quick message to Griselda, will you?"


	3. Into the Woods

She slept for most of the day, before setting up to leave on her adventure.

Marianne didn't pack much, just a satchel with some food and a flask of water. Depending on the type of goblin she became, it was possible none of her clothes would even fit her, so there was no point bringing them.

After some internal debate, she had decided to bring her sword, and hope she would stay roughly the right size to wield it.

The last thing she did was leave a note on her desk. It was a simple message – " _I've gone adventuring and will be back in a month. Love, Marianne_ " – which she folded and sealed, addressing it to her father.

It surprised her, how long it took to walk to the border rather than flying there. It gave Marianne a new appreciation for the Fairy Kingdom's actual size.

Even with the primrose flowers cut down by the Bog King's decree, the border was unmistakable. The sun was setting behind Marianne, and as she looked into the trees, she felt like she was staring into the very heart of night.

She sat down on a rock to wait for it to get fully dark. Her wings felt so heavy, like a winter cloak dragging behind her. Her legs ached from the unaccustomed hike. Her stomach squirmed with excitement and nervousness. She took off her boots to rub her feet.

Night fell, and the moon rose, edging the trees before her with silver. Marianne took out the potion and drank. It tasted … rather like a dry wine, but without the bite of alcohol.

Marianne dropped the bottle as her hands began to distort. Her skin felt like it was twitching in every direction at once. Her wings weighed more heavily on her than ever, and suddenly melted away. Her face felt like it was melting, too, her jaw reshaping and her cheeks falling to form jowls. She cringed, shaking her head, and the fluff of her hair fell down around her shoulders and scattered at her feet.

When it was over, she was covered with tiny, pebbly scales, green but tinted violet, almost like tourmaline. Her fingers and toes were webbed to the first joint and her nails had grown into claws. Her boots would have been ruined if she'd still been wearing them, or at least horribly uncomfortable. Plum's magic had apparently altered the rest of her clothes to fit her – Marianne's tunic was snug but still fit her new chest, and her pants now had a hole in the back for her tail.

Wait, what? She had a tail?

Marianne put her boots into her bag. She couldn't leave them here. They were recognizably hers. If somebody found the princess' boots abandoned at the border it could cause a panic. Besides, she would want them when she changed back into a fairy.

She took a deep breath and crossed the border. No turning back now. She was going to spend a month in the Dark Forest.

It was actually quite pretty, Marianne realized, once she got properly into the woods. Some of the plants glowed faintly in the dark, and leaves brushing together created a pleasant background noise. She hadn't encountered any animals yet, but she'd seen some spider webs overhead, shining in the moonlight as though made from it.

She reached out to touch a nearby plant, a fuzzy stalk with leaves furled around it, and it uncoiled and fanned out in a pattern resembling frost on glass. Marianne gasped.

"Hi!"

She jumped and, if she hadn't just been gasping over the plants, her breathless cry would have been a full shriek.

The greeter was one of the goblins Plum had shown her, or at least bore a strong resemblance to Griselda. She grinned widely at Marianne and made a calming gesture.

"New to this neck of the woods, are you?"

"Um, yes." Technically that was true.

"I'm Griselda. What's your name?"

"Mar- uh …" Whether or not former goblin queen knew the current fairy princess' names, 'Marianne' was a distinctly fairy name. She'd need a cover –

"Marsha, did you say?"

"Yes! Marsha!" That sounded goblin-y, right?

"Nice to meet you, Marsha. Now, if you're not local, I have to ask, do you have a place to stay? We've got lots of guest rooms we never use."

"No – yes – that is, that's very kind of you –"

"Good, come with me, then. I know the night is young, but it's good to know where you're sleeping that day before it gets too close to sunrise."

With nothing planned – it occurred to Marianne, rather belatedly, that she had not thought through her adventure very well in advance – she obeyed, and followed Griselda.


	4. Meeting the King

Marianne gasped again when she saw the castle. Everything in the Forest filled her with awe, but this was …

This was not how she pictured a castle.

"The jaw-bridge looks like it could use some more structural support," she commented to Griselda.

"Eh, it's fine. It's lasted this long. Got to be able to close it on invaders on short notice, you know."

The castle was a tree stump, and to Marianne's eyes, it looked like it was rotting. That could have been an intentional artistic effect, and it certainly was intimidating, but she didn't especially like it.

"The guest rooms are upstairs, this way."

It was a spiralling staircase around what Marianne thought might be the core wood of the castle. Every floor seemed to have a central room from which the other rooms and hallways radiated out.

The guest room, on the third floor up, was simple; a bed and a table and a glowstone lamp hung from the ceiling, and a small window. There was a preserved leaf on the door. Each guest room had a different leaf. Marianne's was pointy and red, shaped like a teardrop but with jagged edges like a sawblade.

"It's lovely. Thank you." She put her bag down on the bed and let Griselda hustle her downstairs for something to eat.

Several other goblins were in the kitchen, most of them cooking or – doing something with dead animals that Marianne didn't look at too closely. Griselda, tugging Marianne along by the hand, made a beeline for one goblin in particular, who was getting berries out of a cupboard.

"Oh, son –" she sang out.

And Marianne found herself face to face with the Bog King.

He looked at his mother first, then to Marianne – smaller eyes than she was used to, but a shockingly vibrant blue, far brighter than they'd been in Sugar Plum's illusion – and then back to his mother, and simply said, "No." He took his berries and walked away. Griselda _hmph_ ed but didn't go after him.

"Don't mind him, he's just grouchy and prickly sometimes," she said. "Stressful job, you know."

"I'm sure," said Marianne diplomatically. Her father certainly had days where he was so tired from his duties that he could barely string two words together. Dawn, too, though she didn't yet wear the crown, could be weighed down by it.

Griselda introduced 'Marsha' to the kitchen staff and they shared some acorn pastries before Marianne was set loose to explore again.

She nearly bumped into the Bog King on her way out of the castle. He arched his leafy eyebrow at her and stepped aside, gesturing her forward with his sceptre, disguising the instruction to get out as an act of courtesy. Or possibly Marianne was reading too much into that, but he definitely gave the impression he did not want her there.

There was a patch of thorns near the castle. Marianne made a full circuit around it, wondering if the vines bloomed or grew leaves or if all there was to them were sharp points. Then she discovered a plant she would later learn were called Venus flytraps, which startled her when one of them snapped shut on a gnat.

She met the Bog King for a third time when she returned to the castle, just as the sun was starting to poke fingers of light through the trees. He scowled, but did not question her, only turned in the opposite direction.


	5. Exploring the Forest

Marianne didn't actually know how to ride a dragonfly, so she never got more than half a night's walk away from the castle. But the Dark Forest was dense and lush, and there was plenty to interest her within that limited range.

She could spend most of a night examining a single tree, learning the texture of its bark and the shape of its branches and the pattern of its leaves, climbing to see how high she could reach before it could no longer hold her weight, and discovering what animals nested or fed there.

There was a patch of blue flowers she often found herself returning to, marvelling at the deep colour and the folds of the layers of petals.

Sometimes she met insects, now that she was learning more about how to move quietly on foot, and she enjoyed watching centipedes or millipedes pass by and seeing how their legs flowed, one pair after another.

She was sure there was something hidden in the thorn patch, but even with her new, tough scales, she couldn't get more than a short ways in to see.

The mushrooms startled her when she first learned they could speak, but she was amazed at the idea of such swift long-range communication.

And, of course, she met other goblins; sentries and hunting parties, messengers with information too sensitive to risk distortion by mushroom line, craftspeople transporting their goods, and citizens moving to or visiting other cities. The castle staff got to know her, and for the most part seemed to like her, though part of that might simply have been because she was Griselda's guest.

She crossed paths with the Bog King at least once a night, but they only spoke, stiltedly, when they found themselves sharing a meal. His assistants, Stuff and Thang, seemed curious about her, but as they were always with the king, she didn't have much of a chance to get to know them.

After the first week, Marianne discovered something so fascinating and exciting that it consumed most of the rest of her time in the Forest.

It started with a sparring match. Marianne had, back home in the Fairy Kingdom, watched the guards running drills. When she found a training yard in the Dark Forest, she started watching the goblins do the same. The moves were different, but some of the weapons training was similar.

At the end of one such drill session, one of the guards – Gus, whom she'd met at the castle a couple of times before – called out to her. "Hey, Marsha? You any good with that sword you're always carrying?"

Her first instinct had been to demure; she had trained in defiance of social expectations and with a complete lack of support beyond some condescending comments about her 'cute hobby'.

But this was the Dark Forest, and these were goblins. She wasn't a princess here. And about half the guards were women, anyway.

So – to the hoots of excitement of the crowd around them – she accepted Gus' invitation to spar.

She'd never fought someone who wielded a hatchet before. She took a few glancing hits, most notably a scrape on her arm where it actually cut through her scales and drew blood – but she managed to disarm Gus once, and landed a few hits of her own, and eventually kicked him in the chest hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"HOLD."

The order came from Portia, Captain of the Guard, who had been watching from the fence. Marianne and Gus both froze.

"Marsha. You have potential. Are you interested in joining the Guard?"

She blinked, stunned, and agreed on impulse. "Yes."

Portia nodded. "Probationary. You'll be joining drills tomorrow."

"Thank you – I mean, yes, Captain."

Marianne helped Gus up and they stood at attention while Portia gave a run-down of their fight, pointing out areas where they could both improve. Marianne heard her, but as though from a distance.

It didn't penetrate her giddiness until she went to bed that morning that joining the Guard meant, when Marianne became a fairy again, 'Marsha' would be wanted for desertion.


	6. Joining the Guard

Portia was suspicious by nature, and Marsha set off all her internal alarms.

The woman had come out of nowhere, with no official record of her existence anywhere that Portia could find, and was suddenly the trusted guest of the former queen, with nearly unrestricted access to the castle and Forest.

It wasn't unprecedented for Griselda to bring women to the castle without letting the guards clear them first, hoping to find someone for the Bog King to love, but usually those women came, were rebuffed by His Majesty, and left.

Marsha had stayed, and spent most of her time out of the castle exploring, rather than wooing the king.

Portia was nearly certain Marsha was a spy. For whom, Portia couldn't say. Her clothing and weaponry looked fairy, but that could be a tactic of misdirection.

Letting Marsha into the Guard was a calculated risk, to keep her occupied and let Portia keep a closer eye on her.

* * *

Marianne's skill with her sword increased dramatically after just a few nights of actually being taught. She learned other weapons, as well, such as hatchets and sticks, but she felt the sword would always be her favourite.

The Captain seemed to be taking especial interest in Marianne's training. Marianne kept noticing Portia watching her as she drilled or sparred, or when she and the other guards reported back in after patrols. She actually got to spar directly against the Captain once, which was thrilling and terrifying and ended with Marianne landing hard enough on her rump that she thought for a moment her tail was sprained.

The goblins, as a whole, did not seem to turn to their Guard for law enforcement so much as for animal control. Marianne was trained to keep watch for owls, bats, foxes, raccoons, and other predators that might see a goblin as a potential snack. She helped round up a nest of rats, raised as livestock, which had escaped their pens. And, when the Captain discovered Marianne was diurnal – rare among goblin kind, but something that came up once in a while – Marianne started being assigned to daytime patrols.

Patrols with other goblins meant she had to learn how to ride a dragonfly. She couldn't stop to examine things at her leisure anymore, but she saw so much more of the Dark Forest. She'd never realized how many cities there were in there.

Rather than armour, the Dark Forest Guard marked their throats with a secret mix of herbs that gave them all a similar scent for a few hours at a time. Marianne had noticed her sense of smell was stronger as a goblin, but had not realized they used scents to identify one another.

Most of her senses felt like they had changed. Perhaps it was her goblin eyes, but the Dark Forest seemed much darker by day than it was by night. The luminous plants stopped glowing, the fireflies went to sleep, the cities turned off their lanterns, and there was only the gray-green haze of sunlight filtered through tree branches.

Once, she looked straight up, and an unexpected beauty of the woods once again made her gasp.

"What is it?" hissed one of her patrol partners.

"Nothing dangerous," she said hastily. "I just …" She pointed up. "I never realized the trees don't overlap each other."

There were gaps in the forest canopy, like an interconnected series of rivers.

"Oh, that. Yeah, it's neat," said the other goblin, "but keep focused when on duty, right?"

Something else that surprised Marianne was that there didn't seem to be any troop barracks. She continued sleeping in the guest bedroom at the castle, and no one seemed to bat an eye at that.

She continued to see the Bog King at meals, but didn't truly interact with him until the night he appeared while the guards were running drills and announced he'd be joining that night's sparring matches.

Portia, to Marianne's absolute shock, assigned _her_ to spar against the king.


	7. Fighting the Fight

Sparring was one of the few things the Bog King did for fun. The new guard, Marsha, was an unexpected challenge. Few goblins used swords. That was probably why Portia had suggested her.

Her blade clanged against his sceptre and created sparks. She angled it to reflect moonlight into his eyes. She was fast and agile. Bog was faster, but Marsha was more limber.

Bog had a height advantage, but in the end he had to use his wings to retain it, because when he backed Marsha up to the fence, she'd climbed it backwards while still fending him off.

When he was in the air, she jumped down, punching sideways into his kidney, just below where his lower wings joined his back, and forcing him to the ground as well.

* * *

Marianne hadn't expected the king to take defeat well, when she managed – barely – to win their first sparring match, but he didn't seem at all upset when he challenged her to a rematch. He seemed like he was having as much fun as she was.

He won the second round when he kicked her in the stomach powerfully enough that she landed on her back, and he pressed the fancy head of his sceptre to her neck, but after she yielded he helped her up just like any other goblin had, and accepted when she challenged him to round three.

That one was a tie, when their weapons got tangled and they disarmed each other simultaneously.

After that, they sparred with other people for the rest of the night, but Bog kept coming by during sparring drills and she always seemed to get at least one round against him.

* * *

Portia had hoped that pushing Marsha into sparring with the Bog King would trick her into exposing her intentions towards the Dark Forest and its ruler, but she still didn't have any evidence to bring His Majesty about her suspicions.

* * *

Griselda was delighted when 'Marsha' and Bog started conversing over meals, and spending time together socially when she wasn't on duty with the Guard and Bog wasn't occupied with his Royal Duties.


	8. After the Honeymoon

Dawn and Sunny's return was supposed to be cause for another party, but for once, no one in the Fairy Kingdom seemed to be in a partying mood.

"Your sister is missing," Dagda informed Dawn when she and Sunny arrived at the castle. "She's been gone a few weeks – right after your wedding."

"No!" Dawn cried. "She's snuck out before, but never that long."

"Exactly. We have no idea where she is or what's happened to her besides this." He passed Dawn a note, the wax seal cracked, Marianne's handwriting faded from being read and reread.

" _I've gone adventuring and will be back in a month. Love, Marianne_ " it said. Dawn and Sunny both huffed in exasperation.

"Of course she wouldn't say where she planned to go," Sunny groaned. "Then the guards might be able to follow her and keep her safe."

"Tell me she at least brought her sword," said Dawn.

"It wasn't in her room, so that seems likely."

"Well, that's _something_."

"There are … other concerns," said one of the knights flanking the fairy king. "Dawn – your highness – do you remember how your sister used to talk about going to the Dark Forest and talking to the goblins?"

"Of course, Roland." Dawn rolled her eyes. "She's always wanted to do that. That's why I promised to send her there as an envoy when I become Queen. Marianne wouldn't be reckless enough to go into the Forest on her own without telling anyone."

"Perhaps," conceded Dawn's former suitor, "but if she were 'adventuring' along the border, and the goblins found her there …"

"They'd have to cross the border to get to her," Sunny pointed out, "and then they'd be the ones in the wrong. Why would they risk that?"

"She doesn't always look where she's flying," Roland pressed. "She could've crossed over by accident."

Dawn bit her lip. "I hate to say it, but Marianne _can_ be a reckless flier."

"Should we send a messenger to ask if she's been seen?" Sunny asked his wife and father-in-law.

"I don't know if we can trust that a messenger would be returned safely." Dagda stroked his beard. "If Marianne is there, and the goblins have been keeping her prisoner, they should have sent a messenger to us about an illegal border crossing. If they have her and haven't said anything, it would be an act of war."

"I propose," said Roland, "that we send an army – a show of force – to retrieve the princess."

"We don't even know if she's there," Sunny tried to protest.

"No fairy of her description has been seen in the kingdom in four weeks. Her wings are distinct; she couldn't have disguised herself. The only conclusion is that she's not in the Fairy Kingdom anymore." Roland curled a lock of hair around one finger and gave them all his most earnest look. "Your Majesty, your highness … es," he corrected himself, glancing down at Sunny, "I got to know Marianne while I was courting Princess Dawn. I care for her deeply. Please believe that I want nothing more than to bring her safely home."

"Roland has a point," said Dawn. "If Marianne's not in the Fairy Kingdom, the Dark Forest is the next logical place to search for her."


	9. Under the Moon

"An arm skis on roaches!" Thang announced.

"What?" said Bog flatly.

"That's not it!" Stuff insisted. "An army approaches!"

That didn't seem likely either, but at least it was coherent. The guards swarmed to the gate and to posts surrounding the castle.

Marianne didn't draw her sword, but kept her hand on the hilt. She was part of the jaw-bridge defences, and they were packed tight. If she drew her blade too soon, she could cut the goblins on either side of her.

She had been trying to get the Bog King alone for the last several nights, but it seemed like every time she might be able to speak privately with him, something came up.

She didn't think she was in love with him or anything, but she had grown to consider him a friend, and she wanted to tell him the truth about who she was before she changed back and had to leave.

It wasn't much of an army. Chipper, the squirrel, marched to one side, and a dozen each of elves, brownies, and armoured fairies marched beside him. Marianne squinted when the gold and green metal caught the moonlight – yes, that was Roland, Dawn's most persistent suitor, riding the squirrel.

"Halt!" he ordered when they got close enough to see each other properly. "I am Roland, knight of the Fairy Kingdom. I will speak to your Bog King."

"You," snarled Bog, landing in front of his guards – Captain Portia groaned quietly – "will leave the Dark Forest at once, and pray that I forgive this invasion."

"We have reason to suspect that you have taken our princess, Marianne," said Roland. Marianne bit her tongue at that. How could her note have possibly given that impression? "We demand her safe return."

"Your _princess_ is not here," Bog sneered. "Your _army_ is the first violation of the border treaty since it was sealed."

It was at this inopportune moment that the moon rose, and Marianne realized she had lost track of the nights.

She'd thought the full moon was tomorrow.

She glowed. The goblins around her cried out in concern and most of them backed away, others reaching for her as though they could help. Bog turned from the army to see what was happening.

It was very much the same as her first transformation, aching and itching as her body reshaped itself. Her tail and webbing and claws receded. Her scales smoothed back out into skin. Her scalp and eyebrows itched as her hair regrew. Her jaw and cheeks tightened into their original configuration. Her ears lengthened and stiffened. Finally, her wings bloomed from her shoulders.

"I knew you were a spy!" Portia shouted, grabbing Marianne's forearm in her massive hand. "An excuse for an invasion!"

"No! I didn't – this wasn't supposed to happen!" Marianne insisted.

Portia hauled her forward and held her up. "Is _this_ your princess?"

"Unhand her, foul beast!" Roland answered. Portia snorted and dropped Marianne's arm, shoving her forward.

Bog's eyes met hers. He looked so stunned.

"Marsha?" he whispered.

"My name is Marianne and I was _going_ to tell you," she said quickly, "and nobody was supposed to come after me, I left a note that I'd be back in a month, and I never meant for … any of this … to happen. I just wanted to explore the Forest."

Bog scowled at her, more ferociously than he had even on the first night they'd met.

"I think you had better go home now, _Princess Marianne_."


	10. Filling the Blanks

"I went to the Sugar Plum Fairy for a potion," Marianne explained yet again, "and it turned me into a goblin for a month. I left a note! You weren't supposed to worry!"

"I wasn't supposed to worry that my youngest daughter disappeared for weeks?" said Dagda. "I – you – I had no way of knowing you were safe. You – you are _grounded_ , young lady, until I can trust you not to disappear again the moment I look away!"

"You might not have meant to scare us, Marianne, but you really did," said Dawn.

"Okay, so nothing in the note said I was in the Dark Forest, but then why did you _invade it_?"

"I'd like to state for the record that I also said that," said Sunny. "But everyone knows you've always wanted to go there."

"But wasn't assuming I'd been imprisoned without notice kind of – paranoid? And if you were searching for me everywhere in the kingdom, did no one think to ask the Sugar Plum Fairy, our most powerful sorceress, if _she_ had some way of knowing where I was?"

* * *

Roland had been hoping, when he returned in triumph from the Dark Forest with Princess Marianne at his side, that King Dagda would agree to the need to vanquish the goblins.

He'd even indulged in a fantasy of the rescued princess being so grateful to him that they'd been wed, and since he was clearly better suited to be future king than Dawn's husband, Dagda would decide to pass the Crown to his second child.

He had not expected to be investigated for warmongering and paranoia. He managed to avoid complete disgrace, since the Royal Family had gone along with his plan of their own free will, but he lost a good deal of his status in Court.

* * *

The Bog King sent a message to the Fairy Kingdom, requesting an audience with Princess Marianne and an explanation for recent events.

The request was accepted. They met at the border rather than in either of their castles. The princess and king each had a small retinue of guards, stationed far enough away not to hear a quiet conversation but close enough that either could call for help.

Her story was … ludicrous, to be frank, but Bog couldn't doubt her when his mother had confessed about the Sugar Plum Fairy contacting her to warn that the younger fairy princess was disguised as a goblin and wandering their domain.

He also found it easier to look at Marsha … Marianne, now that she no longer so strongly resembled his first love.

"When you kept coming back after that first time my mother introduced you," Bog admitted, once Marianne finished explaining, "I rather suspected you had ambitions of becoming Queen."

Marianne snorted and let out a huff of laughter; the same way she'd laughed in her goblin guise. Her golden eyes had also stayed the same. "If all I wanted was a pampered life of royal luxury, I could've just stayed home."

"You could … come back, you know. As yourself. You can – you should – feel free to visit the Dark Forest whenever you like."

* * *

It came as a surprise to absolutely no one when the Fairy Princess Marianne and the Bog King fell in love after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the ending might seem a little abrupt ... but this was an aesthetic choice, to mirror the first line of the story, and to match the intended 'fairy tale' tone where the story often ends right after the main characters' relationship begins.


End file.
